Wednesday letters: Our liberty, pride, defrocked ex-archbishop

Copyright 2014: Houston Chronicle

Updated
9:55 pm CDT, Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Neighborhood pride

Regarding "Business, politics seize new market" (Page B1, Sunday), now that the Houston Pride parade has come and gone for another year, how about those participating show some pride in the neighborhoods that hosted the parade and clean up the annual mess that seems to linger from one pride parade to another.

Whatever the city of Houston thinks is a post-parade clean-up just isn't.

If I go for a haircut, they generally just don't go down the middle with the clippers. All areas are dealt with, especially the sides. That's where the problem is. The city of Houston's idea of a pride parade cleanup is strictly down the middle. Both the streets and the haircut look pretty bad afterwards.

People of Montrose need to form cleanup crews and exhibit not only pride but responsibility and accountability in putting their neighborhoods back the way they were.

It's a prideful, civic end to a fun and joyous event.

Mark Stulberger, Houston

Dwindling liberty

Columnist David Brooks got it right with "Our spiritual recession is harming U.S. interests" (Page B7, Saturday). The economic and social dynamism that made the U.S. great has been compromised by our current political climate. The national leadership that once recognized its limits now uses its power to manipulate the citizenry with every government action. Brooks is spot on when he divides the trajectory of history between the collectivist's idea of heaven on earth and a democratic capitalism now relegated to the past.

What we are experiencing today is an experiment in liberty that has been corrupted by collectivist notions that work like leavening to permeate the entire system.

What made the United States the subject of study and emulation by the rest of the world was our tolerance for each others' differences. That condition was based on a universal understanding that providence was the source of justice both social and legal. Religion was the ultimate arbitrator among neighbors determined to be neighborly.

Since the invention of welfare, the neighbors have chosen to ignore their local community and have given government representatives the power to not just settle disputes or build things useful for everybody, but to enrich one citizen at the expense of another. The religion that gave us the foundation for the great experiment in liberty was dependent on its followers being devoted to doing good works.

In today's welfare state the good works are done by bureaucracy with the intent of purchasing allegiance with no need for gratitude.

Government by men can never arbitrate incomes for a prosperous economy. We live in a day of the tipping point when the dependent class uses its majority to elect leaders devoted to redistribution and a climate of envy. Liberty is no longer politically correct in that condition.

Regarding "Ex-archbishop defrocked for sexual abuse" (Page A12, Saturday), finally a high-ranking Catholic prelate is judged guilty for sexual abuse of young boys. As a Catholic, I am aghast and disgusted by his behavior.

He was subsequently defrocked by Pope Francis and told he would never perform priestly duties again. That's great news; however, the pope now should refer the whole matter to civil authorities for criminal charges.

Failure to prosecute this villainous evil miscreant without a prison sentence as punishment will only embolden others to continue committing these awful crimes.

A clear and unambiguous message should be sent by Pope Francis to all priests.